Chania, Crete, 15" x 11"
I haven't done boats for a while in a harbour scene, full tide and the reflections being a key element, and I miss doing them. Sadly in need of some more reference photos, I went back to some old ones from a previous holiday to Crete. Here is the sort of view I love doing - a row of boats, something tall in the background to give some larger reflections and a gentle swell to create some waves and interest.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms
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Porthleven Cornwall, 15" x 11"
Quite a loose one of a similar painting I did a while back, but as I sometimes do, go back to a previous subject and try a different approach. So this was 1) looser and 2) include more boats in the harbour. Bit of a muted palette which I think helps the scene - it could be one of those days when the Atlantic Mist is coming in.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms paper
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Vernazza, Italy, 15" x 11"
A simple sketch using the format of a shady foreground, a brightly lit background and some silhouetted figures on the harbour wall. A suggestion of a row of boats moored up on the right with some simple reflections. As I regularly do, I like to connect the different elements up in the picture - the shadows to people, the right hand figure to the boats and so on.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms.
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Marseille, France, 15" x 11"
A view along the harbourside in Marseille with a fish market on the left and some small fishing craft moored up on the right. Another exercise in simplifying what you see. Reduce the background buildings to shapes, and just put in a few windows. The market on the left has to be just suggested, or I think it would take the eye of the viewer away from the centre and the boats.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300gms
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Here is my latest watercolour tutorial up on my YouTube Channel, this time I share my 5 tips for painting loose - e.g. I stand rather than sit. Let me know what you think.
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Biarritz, France, 15" x 11"
A study of some boats in the Port des Pêcheurs, Biarritz, France. Quite a loose approach to this one and a big use of Neutral Tint. Yet, the neutral tint was always added to some other colour - a yellow in the upper part of the picture to give some dark greens (combine Neutral tint with a bright yelloe gives some interesting green for foliage effects). The boats had their upper structure painted, and then while still moist I went in with darker shadows for the bottom of the hull and shadows below.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press 300 gms
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Watermouth, North Devon, 15" x 11"
A composition based on this sheltered bay in North Devon. The slipway here at low tide is a long way from the water's edge. Just to the right of it is a small building - not sure if it is the harbour master or something to do with the lifeboat station. My reference photo was taken on a very overcast, but bright day, and I imagined it here being sunny with the late afternoon sun coming from the South West. I introduced a figure to balance the boat on the left.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms
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Venice, Italy, 15" x 11"
A study of a couple of builders filling a barge with building rubble, and a little bit of dust as a consequence. So a an exercise in creating a figure with the wheelbarrow, just at the point of tipping his load over the edge and maybe his colleague offering some instructions. A tricky scene to get the composition right and keeping everything else in the picture really simple. The dust was the last thing to go in - a mixture of white paint and a little cobalt blue, painted in with little water - almost dry brush strokes.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms
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Venice, Italy, 15" x 11"
A second crack at this scene in Venice, on a smaller format - the last one I did was a plein air and half imperial size. Here, we have light hitting all areas of the scene, directly and indirectly. I tried to have some dark shadow going across the foreground, to give an opportunity to have some shapes being silhouetted against the light in the middle ground. Also some figures on the bridge, darker against the light in the background. The right hand side was tricky to convey in a loose style - many little details to get bogged down on.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press Paper 300 gms
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Venice, Italy, 15" x 11"
A smallish canal in Venice and a fairly typical scene with figures and small boats. Quite a loose picture done with my three colour palette and a bit of fun trying to connect all the different shapes - the background - the boats up the canal side and the figures almost as one. Just a minor bit of the use of white gouache on the railings on the bridge.
Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press 300 gms
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